Exodus drummer Tom Hunting is faring well in his cancer treatment after the 56-year-old rocker was recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the stomach, according to an update from his bandmate Steve "Zetro" Souza, Exodus’ lead singer.

Indeed, Hunting is "beating this thing," the vocalist shared as part of his Zetro's Toxic Vault livestream on Wednesday (May 20). In April, when the drummer first revealed the diagnosis and started treatment, Exodus guitarist Gary Holt launched a GoFundMe for Hunting that has since nearly doubled its $50,000 goal.

Watch Souza's video toward the bottom of this post.

"I was actually with the whole band last Tuesday," the Exodus frontman began. "We had a photoshoot. And I've gotta say Tom looks great. And from all of us, and him as well, we wanna thank all of you guys for all of your kind words, all of your financial support. And I want you guys to know that he's one of the strongest individuals I've ever met in my life. That's why he got so much love. He's just such a great, amazing player, as that goes. He's an awesome drummer — an innovator at what he does — and just an overall great dude, and everybody loves him." [via Blabbermouth]

Souza continued, "When you guys hear what [Hunting's] done on the new record and see him live, it's gonna be really exciting for everyone. It makes it even that much more special as that comes out. I don't wanna tell too much, because he's very reserved on these types of things and he doesn't really want me to talk about it. I just wanna let you guys know that he's doing really good, and he looks really good, and his attitude and everybody around him is very positive."

The singer added that Hunting had shorn his hair off. "I thought he looks great, dude," Souza said. "I told him, 'Fuck, dude. I wouldn't grow it back if I was you.'"

Last month, Hunting first shared word that he was "starting treatment for a squamous cell carcinoma. It's a gastric tumor that was diagnosed in my upper stomach in February. I'm making this public to raise awareness for people to pay attention to symptoms of stomach and esophageal issues. If they persist, please go get it checked out. I'm not gonna be sheepish talking about it. I feel that if I can help someone with what I've learned, or someone out there has information to share with me, it's a win-win! When you can name the enemy, it's empowering, and you're one step closer to killing it!"

Early last year, before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., Holt suggested a new Exodus album could be out by the end of 2020. Those plans have obviously since changed, but it sounds like the influential thrash metal act has something in the works to be unveiled very soon.

Tom Hunting Update on Zetro's Toxic Vault - May 19, 2021

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